Mizuna and Broccoli Flower Salad: The Plasma HDTV of Salads

I remember in the 80's everyone started eating Caesar salad, and romaine bumped iceberg as the lettuce of choice. Then sometime in the '90s peppery salad leaves like arugula and radicchio were clandestinely added to salad plates. Back then people would disparagingly call them "the lettuce that bites you back." Ah, how things have changed.

Then came mesclun, and salad was never the same. Mesculn is a mix of tender, young salad leaves. Its name comes from the French mescla meaning "to mix." Mesclun varies depending on the source but may include arugula, mustard greens, oak leaf, radicchio, red beet greens, and sorrel.

The first time Jeff and I ate fresh mesclun from the farmers' market here in California we were taken aback:

"Wow! This salad has lots of flavor. You can really taste the greens," Jeff said.

Talking right over him, I exclaimed, "Is that a baby beet green?"

"Do you have these green pointy things in yours?" he replied, ignoring my question, "They're fantastic!" (Yes, we do get this excited over salad at my house.)

Turns out those green pointy things were mizuna. Mizuna is a Japanese mustard green with dark green, thin, serrated leaves, and a pleasantly spicy, peppery flavor. Though it has been cultivated in Japan since ancient times, it is believed to have originated in China. Most recipes for mizuna are Asian, and it features prominently in salads, soups, and stir-fries. It can be eaten raw or cooked, and it is packed with nutrients such as carotenes, folic acid, and vitamin C.

Mizuna is available at markets such as Whole Foods, and if you buy Trader Joe's herb salad mix, it's in there too. So you may have been eating mizuna without even realizing it.

Just when you thought you couldn't take any more salad excitement, I have to mention broccoli flowers. These tiny, yellow edible flowers have a robust flavor and beautify any salad. If you find them, don't hesitate to get them. They are sooo 2008.

Speaking of Trader Joe's and yellow flowers, here is a bouquet of TJ's cheerful daffodils (unlike the broccoli flowers, I wouldn't eat them). After about 6 weeks, it's time to say good-bye to daffodils until next year. I hope Sandi likes daffodils since this is my entry for her Centerpiece of the Month.

Eek! I've not heard of Catalina dressing but that "classic" salad you illustrated sounds vile. Give me your exotic, beautiful (and tasty!) greens any day. I wish we had as much variety in our markets as you do, though. Many markets would not even think of selling baby greens and many people would not even think of eating flowers. Sigh.

Am sure Sandi would LOVE that centrpiece Susan...it's beautiful! Love your salad conversation...ha ha! Have an award waiting for you dear girl...http://passionateaboutbaking.blogspot.com/2008/04/malted-oat-pistachio-cookies-distinct.html.Have a great day!

I love how jazzed you get about salads, Susan. And with something as beautiful as this, small wonder. You gave substitutes for the mizuna. Any ideas for the broccoli flowers? Just for color, one could add marigold petals, I know. Have no idea if the taste is even vaguely similar, though.

By the way, I'm a little slow on the uptake, but I just spotted your NPR articles in the sidebar. Very cool!

Darn! I was just at Trader Joe's buying pistachios (Deeba keeps tempting me with them). I really should have checked your blog out first b/c it's so dang hot today that a salad would be perfect. Thanks for sharing. I had to laugh with the reference to the 80's - do you remember when sun-dried tomatoes were in everything? Now, I rarely see them.

You certainly know your salads!And you know how to make them stunning and absolutely beautiful! That salad could definately serve as a table decoration as well.I never knew broccoli flowers were yellow. Thanks for the enlightenment Susan!

the picture looks appetizing, susan. i love mizuna in salads. not sure about broccoli flowers, though. haven't tried those. we tend to let the broccoli flowering and seeding, but never thought to put them in salads. great info you provide here.

This look fabulous! I am always looking for new ways to sneak greens into my diet and I get tired of bagged baby greens melting to mush in my veggie drawer!The broccoli flowers make the salad so beautiful, and tasty :)

beautiful daffodils and salad. I have a love hate relationship with arugula, because the first time I tried it, it gave me throat ulsers and a miserable vacation. Now, mesclun is something I want to try, because you say it's soooo 2008! :)

Have seen mizuna but never knew what it was - and thanks also for clearing up the definition of mesclun!! Have never seen or even heard of broccoli flowers - you crazy Californians - what next? ;-)

My husband is a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to salad so the standard iceberg/tomato/cucumber combo stil reigns supreme at Chez Cooksister. But at least he does dress his salad properly with olive oil & balsamic!

Thansk for posting about this salad - I agree that the old lettuce, tomato and cucumber salad is now very old hat. I love the look of broccoli flowers - I hve never seen them before, but they are beautiful!

Your salads help me realize how little I know about salad and what goes into them (I just don't know enough about green leafy items). This really looks incredible and the broccoli flowers really make it look stunning. Very nice work!

great information on salad leaves - I confess to not really being a huge leaf person. I think I have seen the mizuna before without any clues about what I saw but I have never even heard of broccoli flowers - i will look out for these but am still living in hope of seeing purple sprouting broccoli locally!

Beautiful salad and the title cracked me up. Just wanted to add in a light manner: don't go to France and say "mescla" to mean "to mix" though, you'd get the weird eye! It is Provencal which like many regional dialects is only spoken on rare occasions, adn only in Provence(that's where I am from), so you would leave any Parisian wondering!

Mizuna is a wonderful green and it's great to see more people enjoying it, isn't it? It's peppery flavors remind me a lot of dandelion - but a bit more subtle-tasting. If I could find some nice tender broccoli flowers like those in your photo, I'd definitely make this salad. It's really nutritious and great-looking.

Odd. Left a comment days ago; guess it didn't take. Anyway, love mesclun greens, especially the "pointy things." I always assumed they were frisée even though I've heard of mizuna. Hope I can find either of them someday that aren't in a mix.